


New Threads

by whaleiumsharkspeare



Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon)
Genre: Between Episodes, Canon Compliant, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Friendship, One Shot, Season/Series 03
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-12
Updated: 2020-11-12
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:07:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,236
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27531991
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whaleiumsharkspeare/pseuds/whaleiumsharkspeare
Summary: In the wake of Rapunzel's return to Corona, she finds that she was able to gain back one friend after losing another. It's been a year and Varian has changed and grown, in more ways than one. Excited and eager to start laying down the bricks of their rebuilt friendship, Rapunzel decides to give Varian a gift.
Comments: 20
Kudos: 50





	New Threads

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys, Whaley here! This is my first time ever posting on AO3 so forgive me if the formatting is a little weird while I try to get the hang of it. This story was originally published on my tumblr, but I felt like sharing it here. The idea is inspired by a headcanon by letthemsayfuck and newsies-of-corona on tumblr about Varian's season 3 outfit that I thought was too sweet not to write about. I hope you enjoy!

It had been a couple weeks since Rapunzel had returned to Corona, and things were starting to return to normal after the Saporian attack had been quelled. Well, almost normal. Thanks to the attack, Frederic and Ariana were not currently fit to rule since their memories hadn’t yet been restored, and as a result, Rapunzel was now the acting queen of Corona. The people of the kingdom were grateful to have their beloved princess back, and Rapunzel was happy to be back as well, even if there was a certain empty spot in the castle that was hard to ignore. Coming back to Corona after losing a friend was hard, but even though she’d lost one friend, Rapunzel was happy to have gained back another one. Now that Varian had turned over a new leaf and was back on the right side of history, he and Rapunzel had managed to start laying down the bricks of their rebuilt friendship. He was a lot happier now that his father was free, and he was almost never not by his side, stuck to him like glue. Rapunzel was happy for him. She’d truly felt awful that she had let him down all those months ago after being unable to save his father, and watching Varian go down that dark road, feeling so lost and broken, had been difficult. Rapunzel never, ever broke a promise, so finally being able to keep hers had been a wonderful feeling. But even though Rapunzel still cared greatly for Varian and had forgiven him for his misdeeds, it didn’t mean that the kingdom had. Varian had never exactly been a very popular boy, not very well-liked in his village, and now he was reviled even more. True, Varian had helped save the kingdom from the Saporians, but not everyone in Corona was as quick to forgive as their princess. Varian couldn’t hardly go anywhere alone without having insults and sometimes objects hurled his way, so he hadn’t been around much since Rapunzel came back. As a result, if Rapunzel wanted to see him, she had to go visit Varian in his own home. Today was one of those days. Rapunzel journeyed happily to Old Corona, hoping to see her young friend. As she walked through the village, the people who had come back after being displaced smiled and waved at their beloved princess. She returned their greetings, happy to see her subjects out and about. She climbed the familiar steps of Varian’s home and knocked on the door.

“Oh, Princess!” Quirin greeted, opening the door.

“Hello, Quirin!” Rapunzel smiled. “How are you?”

“I’m doing much better, thanks to you.”  
“That’s great to hear. I’m really glad I could help,” said Rapunzel. “Is Varian home?”

  
“Yes, he’s home,” Quirin replied. “He’s in his lab. You can go on in.”

  
“Thank you!”

  
“Thank _you_ , Princess,” said Quirin as he stepped aside to let Rapunzel in. She smiled as she walked past him and went over to Varian’s lab. She stood outside the door for a moment, listening to the familiar sounds of Varian’s tinkering. She closed her eyes briefly, remembering her friend of before. But he was still her friend, and hearing the usual cacophony of his lab helped her remember that. She pushed open the door and went inside. Looking around, she spotted him in the corner working on some new machine she hadn’t seen before.

  
“Hi, Varian!” she said brightly. He looked up suddenly from his work.

  
“Oh, Rapunzel! Hi!” he looked at her with a smile on his face.

  
“What are you working on?” she asked as she peered at his machine in curiosity.

  
“Oh, this?” he stepped aside to give her a better view. “This is my newest invention. It’s a machine that’s designed to reverse the effects of the Saporian memory wand and restore your parents’ memories, since I, well...” he trailed off, his smile fading. After a moment, he sighed softly. “I’m sorry, Rapunzel.”

  
“It’s...well, it’s not really okay, but I trust that you’ll figure something out. You’re a smart guy. You can fix this,” she assured him.

  
“Thanks. For...for trusting me,” said Varian quietly. “I-I know I don’t really deserve your trust, but-“

  
“Varian,” Rapunzel gently interrupted. He looked up at her. “I know you feel sorry about everything. And the fact that you’re working to help me already shows me that you’re worthy of being trusted.” He gave her a little smile.

  
“Thanks.” He loosened up a little after previously feeling a bit tense. “So, uh, what are you doing here?”

  
“I just thought I’d come and check up on you, see how you’re doing,” Rapunzel replied. “Do you need any help with your machine?”

  
“Actually,” said Varian, his eyes brightening. “If you could pass me my tools when I need them, that’d be great.”

  
“You got it!” Rapunzel said cheerfully, handing him a screwdriver.

  
Rapunzel spent the rest of the afternoon in the lab with Varian, helping him out with his machine, watching him work, and listening to him explaining its function with rapt attention. He also talked a lot about the past couple weeks that he’d been reunited with his dad. He spoke excitedly about how happy he was to be back and how much he missed the simple things they used to do together, like having dinner in the evening, but how glad he was to get to do them again. Rapunzel loved listening to Varian talk about the things that he was passionate about, and hearing his sweet laughter again after so long was a pleasant and beautiful sound. Watching him work and hearing him talk, it made Rapunzel feel like nothing had changed. But things had changed, even in very subtle ways, and there were many indicators about just how much time had passed. As Rapunzel watched Varian tinker away on his machine, she noticed that he wasn’t quite so little anymore. Granted, he was still a “little guy”, as Eugene had called him, but Varian had grown. He was taller than he had been the last time she’d seen him all those months ago before she left. It was evident in where he now stood in comparison to Rapunzel and in the way she noticed him absentmindedly tugging on the sleeves of his faded blue shirt every now and then, as if trying to bring them down further on his arms. It could have also been a subconscious desire to cover his hands, since he was now working with his hands exposed because the black gloves he used to wear had melted off while Rapunzel was in her trance. Looking at him, she could tell why he always wore those gloves, since working without them had left behind tiny cuts on his hands from the lack of protection from his alchemy and metalwork. Really, he had simply started to outgrow his outfit. Even though Rapunzel could tell that Varian was a little bit skinnier now as a result of eating nothing but the prison food for months on end, she still noticed that his old blue shirt was starting to be too small. The way Varian shifted his feet around while standing and talking indicated that his shoes were too small as well. And even if his clothes fit him perfectly, the patched sleeve of his shirt and the old, worn fabric were signs enough that he was in need of a new outfit.

  
_Surely he must be uncomfortable_ she thought as she watched him working. Then, realization struck her and her heart sank as she thought about why Varian was still putting up with clothes that weren’t exactly fit to be worn anymore. Not everyone in the kingdom had forgiven Varian yet. There were still some people who were harboring fresh wounds and weren’t ready to extend him a helping hand yet. He couldn’t even walk around without his dad nearby for fear of being harassed in some way. Even if Varian wanted to go out shopping and buy himself some new clothes, he couldn’t do it without facing persecution from the citizens who were still angry with him. But not everyone was upset. Rapunzel saw in him a good heart and she knew he had changed for real, and when she saw that a friend was in need, well, she couldn’t just sit idly by without trying to help. So when it was time to leave and she told Varian goodbye, she headed straight back to the castle with newfound determination and an idea burning in the back of her mind.

  
“Hey, Sunshine!” Eugene greeted warmly when she arrived back home. “How was your visit to Old Corona? Is Varian doing okay?”

  
“It was good,” she replied. “It was really good to see him. He’s doing a lot better. He’s back to inventing and doing alchemy.”

  
“That’s great to hear,” he said. “I’m glad the little guy is starting to become more like his old self.”

  
“I am too.” She smiled at the thought. But then she remembered what she’d been so fired up about. “Oh! I have to go see the royal seamstress,” Rapunzel said as she began walking off towards the beauty room where the seamstress worked.

  
“You planning on getting some new threads?” Eugene called after her.

  
“Something like that.”

  
Rapunzel entered the quarters where the seamstress worked, sewing up new clothes for the royal family. She looked around through the curtains of dresses and suits that hung all around.

  
“Faye?” she called.

  
There was a ruffling sound and a bundle of fabric was suddenly tossed through the air and a short woman with pins in her mouth poked her head out from behind some more rolls of fabric.

  
“Oh! Your highness!” said Faye, the seamstress. She took the pins out of her mouth and pushed them into the mini pincushion she wore on her wrist. “How can I help you? Is there something wrong with your dress?”

  
“Oh, no, it’s fine. Just as beautiful as ever! But I have a special request for you,” replied the princess. She took out her journal with a new painting on one of the pages and showed it to Faye. “Do you think you could make me something like this?”

  
Faye studied the picture Rapunzel had made, looking over all the details and specifications.

  
“Absolutely, Princess! I’ll get started right away.”

  
“Thank you, Faye!” Rapunzel said cheerfully. “I know it’ll be just great!”

  
***  
A few days later, Rapunzel once again made the trek to Old Corona, this time with a package in her hands. She had a skip in her step as she thought about her little surprise. When she made it to Varian’s house, she entered his lab enthusiastically.

  
“Hi, Varian!” she announced, her voice bright.

  
“Oh, Rapunzel! I’m glad to see you,” said Varian. “I wanted to tell you more about my progress with the new machine.”

  
As he spoke, Rapunzel glanced down and noticed his hands.

  
“Hey, new gloves!” she observed.

  
“Oh, yeah,” said Varian, looking down. He was wearing a pair of new alchemy gloves, dark brown this time, with little pressure gauges on them. “Dad bought these for me the other day when he went into town. I had mentioned that it was harder doing my alchemy without gloves, and I guess he was worried that I would burn myself or something. But I’m glad to have them, it feels more normal. Anyway, I’m not quite finished with the machine yet, I’m still working out the kinks,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. “But in the meantime, I’ve been working on some potions that I think could help with restoring your parents’ memories. I’ve just gotta test them.”

  
“Sounds like you’ve been busy,” Rapunzel said.

  
“Yeah,” Varian agreed, laughing lightly. “So, what brings you here so soon after your last visit? Not that I’m not happy to see you,” he added quickly.

“Do I need a reason to come visit?” Rapunzel teased.

  
“I don’t know. Do you?”

  
“Maybe I just wanted to come say hi! But actually I do have a reason.” She brought the package out from behind her back and held it in front of her so Varian could see it. “I have something for you!”

  
“For me?” Varian looked down at the package in her hands in surprise. “W-why would you get me something?”

  
“Can’t I just be nice?”

  
“Of course, you’re always nice. But, why me?”

  
“Because I thought you could use it.”

  
“What is it?” Varian asked.

  
“You are seriously missing the point of a surprise,” Rapunzel replied. She pushed the package into his hands. “Just open it and see for yourself.”

  
Varian set the package down on a nearby table and used the sharp edge of one of his tools to open it up. He peered inside and his eyes went wide.

  
“Wait, Rapunzel, really? This is for me?”

  
“Of course! I hope you like it. I designed it myself and I had the royal seamstress sew it up based on my pattern. What do you think?” she asked. Varian lifted the carefully folded clothes from the box and held it up to himself.

  
“I, wow, I don’t know what to say.”

  
“Well, go on!” Rapunzel said, making a shooing motion with her hand. “Go try them on! Let’s see how it fits.”

  
Varian picked up the box and left his lab, going up the steps of his house and to his room. A few minutes later, Rapunzel could hear footsteps coming down the stairs and Varian came back into the lab, and Rapunzel smiled at his appearance. Instead of his old blue shirt with the patched sleeve and his pants with frayed edges, he was now wearing a new dark maroon vest with gold buttons going down either side, and underneath that was a beige long-sleeved shirt with a collar. He also had a new pair of pants and a belt, plus a new shorter tan apron that tied at the waist rather than higher up on his chest like his old one. He even had a new pair of boots, with a thicker toe on them to protect his feet better from broken glass or just the usual chronic clumsiness that Varian seemed to suffer from. Rapunzel’s eyes lit up when she saw him.

  
“Hey, you look great!” she complimented him warmly. She got up and looked him over. “That’s a nice color on you, and it looks like it fits you better than your old shirt. Hmm, except for the sleeves,” she noticed, seeing how the cuffs almost covered his fingers. “But that’s okay, we’ll just get you some sleeve garters to wear and it’ll help with that. How do your boots feel?”

  
“Rapunzel, I...I can’t accept this,” said Varian softly.

  
“Why not? Should I have gotten you blue instead? You seem to like blue.”

  
“No, it’s not that.” He paused briefly. “I just don’t deserve something like this.”

  
“Varian, why would you say that?”

  
“Rapunzel, just look at everything I’ve done. I-I stole the sundrop flower, I kidnapped the queen, I tried to hurt you, worse, even. I took over the kingdom, I erased your parents’ memories. Why would you want to be nice to me after everything I did? You saved my life, you saved my dad’s life. That’s more than I could ever ask for. Why would you keep on giving me things? I don’t deserve your gifts,” said Varian sadly, nervously rubbing at the too-long sleeve of his right arm. Rapunzel put her hands on his shoulders so he’d look at her.

  
“Varian, it’s true, you did a lot of things that hurt me. But I can see that you’re sorry for them, and you’re working to make up for them. I know you have a good heart and that you really are a good person. You had a pretty...rough patch, let’s say. But don’t think for one second that you’re any less valuable as a person because of it. You still deserve to be treated with kindness because I can see that you still want to give kindness to others, and you’re a human being just like everyone else. That means you make mistakes just like everyone else, and it means you deserve to be treated kindly just like everyone else. I know you’re mad at yourself and that takes time to get over, but please don’t think that you’re unworthy of love or friendship because of your past. What you need to focus on is the present. Don’t talk badly about one of my friends,” she said earnestly.

  
_Friends_. Varian’s eyes lit up at the word and he gave her a smile. He liked the sound of that. He took a step back and turned around to look at himself in a mirror in his lab. He smiled at his reflection, turning to look at himself from different angles.

  
“So, what do you think?” Rapunzel asked eagerly.

  
“I think...it looks good.”

  
“So you like it?

  
“Of course I like it.” He ran his hands over the fabric softly. He’d never had such fine clothes before. “And you’re right. This is a nice color,” he laughed lightly. He looked up at Rapunzel.

  
“Thank you, Princess.”

  
“You’re welcome, Varian,” she replied with a smile. She gave him a hug and she stuck around to listen to him talking about his further progress with his machine. When it was time to say goodbye, she waved and headed back to the castle. And for the rest of the day whenever Varian caught a glimpse of his reflection, he couldn’t help but smile.

  
***  
Not too long after, Rapunzel decided to raise her kingdom’s spirits by bringing them together for a community project, namely to help rebuild the castle’s throne room after the Saporian attack had damaged it. Several members of the kingdom had volunteered to come, and Rapunzel was both surprised and delighted to see that Varian was one of them. Finally shaking off his fears of traveling to the capital city alone, he showed up at the castle with a backpack full of tools, ready to help.

  
“Hello, Varian! It’s good to see you out and about,” she said.

  
“Thanks. It’s good to _be_ out and about. I know I’m a big part of why the throne room is damaged, and I’m sorry about that. But I’m ready to get to work rebuilding,” he replied.

  
“Well, thank you. I appreciate it. We can use all the help we can get.”

  
At that moment, Eugene entered the room and spotted Rapunzel talking to Varian. He looked him over in surprise.

  
“Varian! I like the new outfit! You’re looking sharp, buddy.”

  
“Thanks,” Varian replied with a smile. “New outfit, new day, new me.”

  
And it was true. The new, special clothes looked good on Varian, and not just because the color was nice. It was a different, more mature look and it reflected Varian’s growth, in more ways than one. It was still perfect for alchemy and inventing; he hadn’t lost that part of himself. He was still the same sweet boy he’d always been, but he was changed. He really was a new person, still with all his same quirks, but now he was bigger and stronger, and not just in size. His return to kindness had ushered in a new change, and change looked good.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you all for reading! I love Varian and Rapunzel's friendship so much <3  
> Let me know what you think!  
> -Whaley


End file.
